Mini Safari Experience in Johannesburg

I did the mini safari in 2005 with Rosemary at the Lion & Rhino park which is north west of Johannesburg which is located within the Cradle of Mankind heritage site area. Its about 40min to an hour drive from Joburg city. As i didnt have a blog then, the postings has to wait till now. Lucky thing the photos are intact and as i recall, i have put in the pictures as per my memory from the entrance of the park till we finished. The first part near the entrance was pretty mundane, just stretches of bushland till we started to spot the ranger on horseback with some visitors. Yup, you can take a horseback view but then it would mean at a pretty far distance as some of the animals are known to charge. This is the wild, natural habitat for the animals and sometimes animal behavior can be unpredictable. I have promised myself the next time i do go again, i would want to stay two nights in the bush, as they call it. Just to make sure i didnt get the animals mixed up, since it has been that long ago, i did some googling and extracted information and pictures from Wilkipedia and other sources. Conservation in South Africa is done via 20 parks, dedicated to conserving South Africa's wild animals, plants and natural environments. The Lion & Rhino park is one of the parks and there is one or two more under development.

South Africa aims to increase land under formal conservation to 8% by 2010 (from 5.4% in 1994) and marine protected areas to 20% (from 11% in 1994).

The country is well within reach of this target, with over 400 000 hectares of land having been added to SA's conservation areas since 1994. Four new marine protected areas were proclaimed in 2004, bringing roughly 15% of the country's 3 000km coastline under protection.

SA is also leading the way in one of the boldest cross-border initiatives currently unfolding in southern Africa: the development of transfrontier parks. The largest of these, the 35 000 square kilometre Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, combines South Africa's Kruger National Park, Mozambique's Limpopo Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park to create one of the biggest conservation areas in the world.

South Africa's bushveld and savannah regions are still home to large numbers of the mammals universally associated with South Africa. Best known are the mammals, and the best known of these are the famous Big Five which is the elephant, lion, rhino, leopard and buffalo.

The Big Cats in South Africa: The lion tops the food chain - and the glamour stakes. But it does have one formidable enemy in people, who have expelled it from most of the country so that it now remains almost exclusively in conservation areas.

The beautiful leopard survives in a larger area, including much of the southern Cape and far north of the country, although numbers are small in some places.

The cheetah is the speed champ, capable of dashes of almost 100 kilometres an hour. However, vulnerable to the loss of cubs to other predators, the cheetah's population is comparatively small and confined mostly to the far north (including the Kruger National Park), the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in the Northern Cape, and reserves in KwaZulu-Natal and North West.

I only had the fortune to see the lions. The leopard and cheetah can be spotted only at the bigger parks such as the Kruger National Park. Below the description of the animals i had the good fortune to see at the Lion & Rhino Park. Wildebeest (plural, wildebeest or wildebeests), also called the gnu (pronounced /ˈnuː/ or /ˈnjuː/), is an antelope of the genus Connochaetes. It is a hooved (ungulate) mammal. It looks like a mixture of features between a cow and a horse.

Wildebeest grow to 3 ft 9 in–4 ft 7 in (1.15–1.4 metres) at the shoulder and weigh 330–550 pounds (150–250 kilograms). They inhabit the plains and open woodlands of Africa, especially the Serengeti. Wildebeest can live more than 20 years.

The seasonal nature of the African grasslands forces wildebeest to make annual migrations. This was broadcast over National Geographic Channel last year. Its amazing to see how the wildebeest pushes itself through the annual migrations. The main migration is in May, when around 1.5 million animals move from the plains to the woods; they return in November as summer rains water the plains.

Wildebeest are an important part of the plains ecosystem, since their dung fertilizes the soil, and their grazing and trampling encourage new growth. However, wildebeest stampedes are notorious for the amount of destruction they cause. A typical stampede often features approximately 500 wildebeest traveling at speeds of up to 55 km/h and can last for 30 minutes. This mammal is also an important food source for predators such as lions and hyenas.

The name wildebeest finds its origin in the Dutch and Afrikaans words wild and beest, which mean "wild animal" and "beest" in Afrikaans means "cattle" (or "steer"). Although the name is derived from the Dutch language, the name wildebeest doesn't officially exist in the Dutch language. The Dutch name for wildebeest is gnoe (where the Dutch "g" is pronounced [x], as in loch).

The common eland (Taurotragus oryx, also known as the southern eland) is a savannahplains antelope found in East and Southern Africa. They are the world's largest antelopes and they "are very agile and can easily jump a 1.5 m fence from a standing start. Common eland live on the savannah and eat grass, branches and leaves. They are diurnal but tend to be inactive during the heat of day. Herds usually have 30 to 80 individuals, but are known to exceed 400. The common eland has an unusual social life. They come and go, taking advantage of herd life when they need to without forming close ties.

The Eland name is derived from the Dutch word for moose. When Dutch settlers came to the Cape Province they named the largest wild ruminant herbivore they met with the name of the huge northern herbivore.

In Dutch the animal is called "eland antilope" to distinguish it from the moose, which is found in the northern boreal forests.

Springbok (Afrikaans and Dutch: spring = jump; bok = antelope or goat) (Antidorcas marsupialis) is a medium sized brown and white gazelle that stands about 75 cm high. They can reach running speeds of up to 80kph. The Latin name marsupialis derives from a pocket-like skin flap which extends along the middle of the back from the tail onwards. When the male springbok is showing off his strength to attract a mate, or to ward of predators it starts off in a stiff-legged trot, jumping up into the air with an arched back every few paces and lifting the flap along his back. Lifting the flap causes the long white hairs under the tail to stand up in a conspicuous fan shape which, in turn emits a strong floral scent of sweat. This ritual is known as pronking which is the Afrikaans word meaning to boast or show off.

Springbok (aka. Springbuck) inhabit the dry inland areas of south and southwestern Africa. Springbok can get their fluid from the food they eat, and survive without drinking water through dry season, or even over years. Reportedly, in extreme cases, they won't drink a gulp of water in the their entire life. Springbok may accomplish this by selecting flowers, seeds, and leaves of shrubs before dawn, when these foods are most succulent.

The wild dog or Cape hunting dog, one of the most endangered mammals in Africa. Once erroneously reviled as indiscriminate killers but now appreciated both for their ecological value and for the remarkably caring family behaviour in the pack, wild dogs require vast territories. A single pack needs on average several hundred square kilometres. Rosemary told me the other name for this dog - painted dog due to its unique colors on its body.

They are found in small numbers in the Lion & Rhino Park, Kruger National Park and environs, northern KwaZulu-Natal (including the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park), the Kalahari, and the Madikwe reserve in North West province.

Very rarely seen in its natural habitat today, the wild dog is one of southern Africa's most highly endangered mammal species. As a hunter and meat eater requiring an extensive habitat, it is constantly in competition with humans, and particularly with livestock farmers. Some regard the wild dog's method of killing its prey excessively cruel, so there is a negative attitude towards the animal. In the wild, lions are the main killers of wild dogs. As a result, the species has been exterminated from large parts of Africa and today it is one of the continent's most rarely encountered animals.

The species is restricted to Africa, preferring a habitat with open short-grassed or bushy grasslands where there is water and where it has space to run down its prey. In the sub-region of the continent it used to be more widespread, but today is found only in the national parks and other game areas. Nomadic by nature, wild dogs keep on the move: thus one can expect to see them in any suitable area where food is plentiful and fencing no hindrance. Wild dogs are currently being reintroduced to several game parks, and the progress of the operation is being monitored. As a carnivorous species, it eats meat, preferring fresh kills of large or small mammals. Wild dogs kill only for food. They have a reputation for being cruel, but in fact they kill their prey as swiftly as most other predators. Prey is chased by the pack and smaller animals are pulled down. Larger prey may keep running while the dogs continue to bite and tear at it. In both cases prey dies quickly, usually from shock or loss of blood. Wild dogs concentrate on 'easy' prey, mainly the young, sick and old.

Impalas (Macdonald of the Bush) An impala (Aepyceros melampus Greek aipos "high" ceros "horn" + melas "black" pous "foot") is a medium-sized African antelope. The name impala comes from the Zulu language. Impala are among the dominant species in many savannas. They can adapt to different environment by being grazers in some areas and browsers in others. They graze when the grass is green and growing and browse at other times. They will browse on formcsgaybs, shoots, seed pods and foliage.

Herds will use specific areas for their excrement. Impala are active during both day and night and are dependent on water. A herd is normally an indicator of water close by. Impala can thrive in areas where pure grazers can not survive.

When frightened or startled the whole impala herd starts leaping about in order to confuse their predator. They can jump distances more than 9 meters (30 feet) and 2.5 meters (8 feet) high. Leopards, cheetah, Nile crocodiles, lions, spotted hyenas and wild dogs prey on impala.

Warthdog kneels on its front knees whilst foraging for food.

As a member of the pig family, it has a naked skin with sparse, long bristles. A characteristic feature of Warthogs is the protruding curved tusks, which in boars grow into formidable weapons. These tusks are used to dig up roots, which all Warthog relish. Boars stand 680mm high and weigh 80 Kg. Sows are smaller at a height of 600mm and an average mass of 57 Kg. Wartlike tubercles on the large, flat head is another distinctive feature of this animal. A tuft of hair at the end of the thin tail, is very visible when the tail is held erect during running. They feed mainly on grass and roots, but also take bulbs, fruits, carrion, insects, scorpions, earthworms, centipedes and bones. Warthogs are day animals and spend most of their time looking for food. They are normally found in family groups. Warthogs have the peculiar habit of kneeling on the front knees while feeding and foraging in a localised area. They shelter in burrows at night, which they enter tail first. Socially, three main groups are encountered, namely solitary boars, bachelor groups and matriarchal groups.